


snake bites

by prouveyrac



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, deceit is an asshole, i wrote this instead of working on my essays, okay this is mostly platonic but tbh it could be read either way, roman is insecure, virgil is helpful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 01:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13823181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouveyrac/pseuds/prouveyrac
Summary: Roman decided that he hated snakes. He decided that they were the worst animal ever created and that he would do very well not seeing them ever again, thank you very much. He hated their cold, rough scales and the way they slithered without being seen and their yellow eyes that could see right through him and-Their lies. He hated their lies.(“Love the new outfit, Roman.”)He hated more how he wanted to accept them as fact.(“Oh, thank you!”)





	snake bites

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: cursing, mentions of manipulative behaviors/relationships, wounds, blood

Roman decided that he hated snakes. He decided that they were the worst animal ever created and that he would do very well not seeing them ever again, _ thank you very much _ . He hated their cold, rough scales and the way they slithered without being seen and their yellow eyes that could see right through him and-

Their lies. He hated their lies.

(“ _ Love the new outfit, Roman.” _ )

He hated more how he wanted to accept them as fact.

(“ _ Oh, thank you!” _ )

Roman, sitting at his desk with piles of loose leaf towering around him, dropped his head into his hands and groaned. He had been trying for hours to think of how to defeat snakes, or, specifically, one snake, and he found that all his ideas were shit. They ranged from as useless as  _ hit him with your sword _ (crossed out once) to as painful as _ stop believing him _ (scribbled out until it was illegible).

If he could just find a way to stop him, to forbid him from ever fooling them again, he could be content. If he could just proudly waltz up to the other sides and exclaim proudly, “I have found a solution to our newest trouble!”, he would be  _ happy _ , would feel like he did something  _ worthwhile. _

But things couldn’t be like that.  _ Of course  _ things couldn’t be like that.

Instead, Roman couldn’t get his  _ stupid snake face _ out of his head, couldn’t stop hearing his voice lying to them, manipulating their every move. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he fell for it, how he  _ so easily _ gave into his schemes because he wanted to be right. He wanted to be the one to solve the problem this time and not make them, and out of all the solutions, he thought lying would be the one to do it.

He hated Deceit. He hated Deceit for being able to see through Roman and easily make him follow his every whim. He hated Deceit for lying and he hated himself more for believing every word he said and-

Roman yelped at a sudden pain in his left side and a tightness surrounding his abdomen. His head shot up from its position in his hands and looked down at his torso to find a bright yellow snake, wrapped tightly around his waist, with its fangs sinked in to Roman through his jacket.

Roman decided that he also hated his room at the moment. His room was the center for creativity. If Roman thought about something for too long, his room was bound to make it without his explicit permission. Leave it to his room to  _ literally make a bright yellow snake attack him. _ How fitting.

Roman, with a huff of frustration, gripped the snake by its upper jaw and tore its fangs out of him. Roman knew it wasn’t poisonous; even in this mindset, his room was not  _ that _ cruel. He still winced at the blood that immediately started to form a large stain on the white of his jacket. The snake hissed viciously at him, but it did not have time to try to bite again or tighten its grip on his waist, for with a flick of Roman’s other hand, the snake disappeared, banished to the Dreamscape.

Roman decided that now was the time to give up on his fruitless plan to destroy Deceit. If snakes were now _ physically manifesting _ in his room to remind Roman of how much he failed, he really didn’t want to stick around.

Roman stood from his desk and winced against at the pain in his torso. For a rather small snake, the pain that spread across his abdomen, especially where the bite wound was, was overwhelming.

Roman unbuttoned his jacket and lifted up his undershirt to get a look at the damage. The two puncture wounds were bleeding heavily. Not enough that Roman was extremely worried for his health, but enough to burn with pain and drip blood down his skin. Ugly, red marks remained where the snake had coiled tightly around him, and no doubt that they would soon bruise.

“Shit,” Roman sighed. He would most definitely need a bandage to cover the wound, and it would probably bode well for him to ice his torso.

He  _ really _ hated Deceit. He also didn’t feel too fond about himself for being so weak and susceptible to him.

He knew that Logan had a first aid kit somewhere in the Commons, and Roman would most likely be able to find it and patch himself up without being disturbed. It was late, and all the other sides were either sleeping, or at least in their respective rooms.

Roman slowly sunk out of his room. He didn’t want to disturb his wound too much because _ how could such a small wound hurt so much _ . When he rose up into the Commons, his eyes scanned for something that looked like where a first aid kit would be, and instead found Virgil sitting on the couch.

Shit.

Virgil and Roman’s eyes met in what could only be described as a tense awkwardness. When Virgil’s eyes then flitted down to the growing blood spot on his shirt, Roman decided that then was a good time to try to leave.

“Oh, hey, Virg, I know that Logan has a-”

“Why are you bleeding?” Virgil asked, cutting him off. Roman could practically feel his stare going through him.

“Well, that’s actually why I need the first aid kit,” Roman said. “I know Logan has one around here somewhere, and it would be swell if you could tell me where it is, Hot Topic.”

“You’re not answering my question,” Virgil said, his eyes finally moving up to Roman’s face. Roman immediately looked away. “ _ Roman _ -” The tone in Virgil’s voice suddenly shifted from concerned to worse and Roman didn’t think he could handle another person panicking.

“I just got into a little altercation with an idea gone rogue,” Roman said with an eyeroll, trying to make it seem like he was more annoyed with the altercation itself and Virgil’s prodding instead of the “idea” that attacked him. He already felt awful for letting himself be so vulnerable to Deceit’s workings, and even worse that his presence kept following Roman. He didn’t need Virgil’s judgement added on. “So it would be really helpful if you could tell me where that first aid kit is.”

Virgil furrowed his eyebrows and stood up. “No, you go sit in the kitchen,” he said. “I’ll get it.”

“Fine,” Roman huffed out and made his way to the kitchen. His shirt rubbed against the puncture wounds and the soreness around his waist wasn’t helping, either. With a shaky breath that he hoped Virgil didn’t hear, he sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. Virgil returned a few moments later with the first aid kit.

Virgil knelt in front of Roman. Roman shucked off his jacket (which would definitely have to be cleaned now and there would be  _ so _ many questions about the blood) and Virgil lifted up his shirt to get a better look at the wound. Roman watched as Virgil’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight and he turned his eyes up to Roman. 

Roman stayed silent and looked away. 

“Roman,” Virgil said slowly. “Are these… puncture wounds?”

“Snake bites,” Roman whispered. Heat and shame rushed up to his cheeks and just saying the words out loud caused his eyes to prickle.

Virgil stayed silent for a moment and Roman looked back to him. Virgil was staring intently at the wounds, and Roman could see a fire ablaze behind his eyes.

Roman worried his bottom lip. Of course Virgil would be angry at him. Roman was the one who was supposed to protect all of them, and first he followed Deceit’s plans with no question, and now he was too weak to keep him away. He was failing in what he was supposed to do.

Virgil silently opened the first aid kit and took out bandages and a solution to clean the wounds with. Roman watched him, hoping that focusing on Virgil’s movements would stop his hands from shaking and would distract him from the lump that was forming in his throat.  _ This  _ was why he wanted to be able to do this alone. If he was alone, he could drown out these emotions, these thoughts, these _ imperfections _ . If there was no one to witness how weak he was, he didn’t have to think about it. But now that Virgil was here, and was seeing what happened to Roman, he felt like his emotions were trying to knock down a dam in him and let everything flow out.

However, when Virgil dabbed the cleaning solution on the bites to clean them, the burning was so intense that, partly because of the pain but also partly because of  _ everything _ , Roman couldn’t stop something that sounded like a strangled sob from escaping his mouth.

Virgil’s head whipped up to look at him and Roman swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I don’t understand how something so small can hurt so much,” he managed out, his voice shaking. Virgil gave him a deep look that Roman could only describe as pity.

“Don’t worry, Princey, I got you,” Virgil murmured as he continued to clean the wounds as gently as he could. Despite Virgil’s efforts, Roman was still clenching his fists, digging his nails into his palms to distract from the pain. When the wounds were finally bandaged up, Roman wiped at his eyes again and Virgil traced a finger along the red marks on his torso. “Do you want some ice for this?”

“Sure,” Roman muttered, looking anywhere but at Virgil.

“Alright, go lie on the couch,” Virgil said. “I’ll bring some to you.”

Virgil was being a lot gentler than Roman expected. If Virgil -who, yes, Roman had been getting along with better, but could still be rather blunt- was being soft with Roman, it could only mean that Virgil saw how truly fragile he was. Of course Roman could fight battles and rush out into danger, but it was Roman’s mental strength that was tested, and he failed miserably. And now, the others were going to see that.

“Fine,” Roman said and stood up. He didn’t look at Virgil as he walked back into the living room. He carefully laid down and stared up at the ceiling, and kept his gaze there when Virgil walked back in.

Virgil handed Roman an ice pack and Roman draped it across his abdomen. “I guess it’s good that Logan is constantly prepared for crises,” Virgil said, slowly sitting down on the floor, leaning against the couch.

“Yeah,” Roman said, keeping his gaze up.

Silence passed between the two. Even without looking at him, Roman could tell that Virgil kept glancing at him. Each time made Roman’s skin crawl. He usually didn’t mind being the center of attention, he loved it usually, but this wasn’t what he wanted.

Finally, Virgil said, “A snake, huh?”

_ This  _ wasn’t what he wanted.  _ This _ was what caused everything in him to finally break.

Roman pressed his hand to his mouth to muffle the sob that escaped him and he felt mortified as tears blurred his vision. _ Fuck. Shit. _

“Wait, no, I wasn’t supposed to say that,” Virgil said, his voice tense and full of, well, anxiety. “I just- I think I messed up. You just seemed that you were really stressed and in pain and I didn’t know what to say so I thought asking about it might help because, I don’t know? It seems that we solve a lot of our problems by talking but now I see that that wasn’t what I was supposed to do and I’m trying to help but I don’t really know what I’m doing because, well, I’m not really the comforting type and-”

“I can’t do it,” Roman managed out, cutting Virgil off. He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes in hopes to stop the tears that were now flowing.

“Can’t do what, Roman?” Virgil asked quietly.

“ _ Be strong, _ ” Roman said, wincing as his voice cracked. “I can’t.”

“Roman, what are you talking about?” Roman heard Virgil shift next to him and, finally, he looked to his companion and saw that Virgil was fully facing him. He was looking at Roman with furrowed eyebrows and he gently, slowly, swiped a tear from Roman’s cheek.

“Deceit,” Roman whispered. It was the only way he could get his voice to remain somewhat even. “I gave into his plans so easily. I was so weak, Virgil. I- I listened to everything that he was saying! I let him manipulate a-all of us, and now he won’t leave!” He then let out a bitter laugh that was drowned out by another sob. “Even fucking snakes are attacking me now, Virgil! I’m weak.” He shook his head squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m pathetic.”

“Roman,” Virgil said quietly and Roman tilted his head away. “ _ Roman _ , look at me.”

Roman shook his head, keeping his eyes shut and his head turned away. “You’re seeing me like this,” he said. “Everyone is going to know how frail I really am.”

“Roman, please look at me,” Virgil tried again and finally Roman complied. He looked back to Virgil and opened his eyes. Virgil was staring back at him, that same intense, blazing look in his eye. “You’re not pathetic.”

Roman rolled his eyes, feeling another few tears slip down his cheeks.

“I’m serious,” Virgil insisted. “Listen, you’ve all said it yourself, I keep things real. I know I’m bad at this whole comforting thing but… I get how you’re feeling, okay? Deceit lies and manipulates people. He’ll tear you down but make you feel like you only need him. But… but that whole thing that happened with him? Obviously we were all going to listen to him. We thought he was Patton. Even I believed him, and I  _ know _ Deceit. That doesn’t make you weak.”

“It’s not just that,” Roman said. He tried swallowing the lump in his throat again but it still remained.

Virgil quirked an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“He compliments me,” Roman said and felt a whole new batch of tears sprang from his eyes. He pressed a hand to his mouth and looked away again.

He heard Virgil sigh next to him. “Princey,” he murmured.

“He constantly speaks in lies, but he says such nice things,” Roman managed out, his voice shaking terribly and tears streamed down his face. “I want to believe him, but I know that everything he’s saying… isn’t true. I’m not strong, I don’t look good, I’m not good at the things I do, I-”

“Hey, that’s bullshit,” Virgil cut him off. His tone was fierce but Roman could hear the sincerity behind it. “Roman, take it from me, you’re powerful. You’re our knight in shining armor. You’re a great performer, even though you can be a very annoying actor to have to handle. Yes, Deceit lies, but it doesn’t mean that the quote-on-quote truth of his words is  _ actually _ true. He just wants to tear you down and I… I know it can be hard to believe good things about yourself after all the shit he says. But, take it from all of us, you’re not weak, you’re not untalented.” Virgil took a deep breath. “You’re doing great, Roman.”

Roman stared at Virgil. Out of everything he expected, it wasn’t that. Slowly, he reached for Virgil’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Virgil nodded and Roman was surprised when he squeezed his hand back. “No problem, Ro,” he murmured. “I know that all of these… feelings won’t just go away in a night. But I -all of us- are here to help you through it. It’s like Patton says, we’re a family, or whatever.”

Roman nodded. “Thank you,” he repeated, not knowing what else he could say to show his gratitude.

“It’s what friends do,” Virgil said with a shrug. “You should probably rest, though. You need it. You should probably also change. I think Patton will have a heart attack if he sees you in a bloody shirt.”

Roman nodded and gave a weak laugh. “Yeah, I’ll spare Patton that,” he said and slowly pushed himself up. “I guess I’ll be going back to my room, then.” He then hesitated before slowly continuing with, “You can come, if you want? My bed has room for two but of course only if you’re comfortable and-”

Virgil nodded. “I’ll be there, Princey,” he said and gave Roman a small smile.

When Virgil and Roman (who was now in a pajama shirt with significantly less blood on it) were both settled in Roman’s room, Roman clapped the lights off and his gaze turned upwards to the fairy lights he had strung around his room.

“You have a nice room,” Virgil commented from next to him.

“I have the  _ best _ room,” Roman corrected.

“Falsehood,” Virgil said with a snort.

Roman turned his head to look at his friend. “I will not hesitate to kick you off this bed, Virgil. I can only tolerate so much bullshit in a night.”

Virgil this time let out a louder laugh. “And I can only listen to your voice for so long,” he said. “Just go to sleep, Roman.”

Roman stayed silent for a couple moments. “Thank you, though,” he said again in a quiet voice. “You… you really helped me, Virgil.”

“Talking isn’t sleeping, Roman,” Virgil said, his eyes already shut. 

Roman still smiled, though, when Virgil took his hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

**Author's Note:**

> do u ever get the feeling where, if u don't write out an idea, u will explode??? ya that was this. it is almost midnight and i still have two proofread and print out two essays and get my bags ready for tm (i have to be up at 6am and out the door by 6:45am)
> 
> but!!! yeah i had this idea sitting with me the whole day so here it is!!! thank you so much for reading!!! kudos/comments are appreciated :)


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